OneDrive Announcements at Microsoft Ignite 2018

‎09-24-201801:11 PM

Microsoft Ignite 2018

Today at the Microsoft Ignite conference, we announced new innovations for OneDrive to better connect you to your personal and shared files in Office 365, from any device. We’re making it easier to share and work together in real-time while using the power of artificial intelligence to help you be more productive. And we're introducing new security and compliance capabilities to better protect your work.

Access files from all your devices

Files On-Demand for Mac

Last fall, we introduced OneDrive Files On-Demand for Windows, and we’re excited to announce that we are bringing this OneDrive innovation cross-platform to Mac, a top UserVoice request. Releasing to Office Insiders today, Files On-Demand for Mac makes it easy to have access to all your files, but only have files you need to be stored locally on the device which reduces the amount of storage space consumed. You don‘t have to change the way you work, because all your files can be seen in Finder and work just like every other file on your device. Files On-Demand is available to consumer and commercial OneDrive customers, and works across all your personal, work, and shared files in Office 365.You can see that the OneDrive folder selected in Finder takes 0 bytes of storage on the disk.

New status icons in Finder make it easy to know whether your files are locally available or online files. For files that you need to access when you don’t have an internet connection, you can easily make files or folders always available by right-clicking and selecting Always keep on this device.

As you use your online files, they will automatically download and become locally available. Simply double-click a file in Finder or open it from within an app. Now you won’t have to make tough decisions about which files to sync to your PC if you are low on storage.

Double-click an online file and it will automatically download and open.

In addition to users, Files On-Demand benefits organizations and IT admins. Previously on Mac when someone made a change to a file in a shared library on SharePoint, that file is synced out to all devices connected to that library. Files On-Demand for Mac will reduce network bandwidth by eliminating the need to continuously sync shared files others are collaborating on, but you aren’t actively using. IT admins will have the controls they need to manage and deploy with options to enable Files On-Demand by default, select folders or files to always be locally available, and block apps from downloading files. Additionally, Files On-Demand works the same on Mac and PC simplifying end-user training.

Files On-Demand for Mac is now available for Office Insiders on macOS Mojave and can also be enabled by running a simple script. Visit our support page to learn how to enable this. Files On-Demand for Mac will be publicly available in the coming months.

Dark Mode support for OneDrive on Mac

Dark Mode is a dramatic new look that helps you focus on your work in MacOS Mojave. Dark Mode works with built-in apps that come with the Mac and is now fully supported in OneDrive for Mac. When Dark Mode is enabled OneDrive will switch to a new gorgeous dark theme across all of the UI (such as Finder Overlays, and the OneDrive Activity Center,) to ensure a cohesive experience.

Dark Mode for OneDrive in MacOS Mojave

Files On-Demand Storage Sense integration

Windows can automatically free up space by getting rid of files you don’t need, like temporary files and content in the recycle bin. Storage Sense can be set run automatically when you’re low in disk space. Starting with the Windows 10 release in Oct, Files On-Demand will now be part of that feature. When disk space runs low, Storage Sense will take the oldest files on your computer (that are not marked as “always keep on device”) and move them back to a cloud-only state to help keep disc usage low.

Files On-Demand management via Storage Sense

SharePoint 2019 On-Premises support

OneDrive.exe client- SharePoint Server 2019 leverages the latest OneDrive sync client, providing a fast and reliable experience with the ability to easily see which files are synced and in the cloud. Now you can access all your files across SharePoint on-premises and the Office 365 cloud with a single sync client.

OneDrive Files On-Demand- By bringing OneDrive Files On-Demand to SharePoint 2019, you will now be able to access all your files in OneDrive without having to download all of them and use storage space on your device for users running Windows 10 1609 or above. When you turn on Files On-Demand, you’ll see all your files in File Explorer and get new information about each file. New files created online or on another device appear as online-only files, which don’t take up space on your device. When you’re connected to the Internet, you’ll be able to use the files like every other file on your device. Click here to learn more about Files On-Demand.

Sync across organizationsWe have heard that many customers wanted to sync OneDrive folders shared by users outside of their organization, such as partners, external contractors, and suppliers. We are pleased to announce that you’ll soon be able to sync folders from multiple Office 365 tenants on both PC and Mac.

Cross Org Sync

AutoCAD supportWe announced that we are partnering with Autodesk to add more support for AutoCAD file formats in OneDrive and SharePoint.

Enhanced Office Lens experience We made scanning receipts, business cards, and whiteboards easier than ever with our new scan button located directly on the main tab bar of the app. OneDrive leverages the power of Microsoft Office Lens to capture the physical elements around you in easy to read PDF format.Office Lens in OneDrive mobile for Android

Office Lens in OneDrive mobile for iOS

We’re also adding new functionality to the capture experience on iOS and Android. Now, when saving a scanned document or image to a shared library in SharePoint, users will be able to add metadata that will be uploaded – along with the document or image – to the selected library. This capability helps unlock potential new uses cases and workflows right from your phone.

Camera UploadWe are happy to announce that Camera Upload, our top request on UserVoice, is now available for OneDrive for Business accounts on iOS and in beta for Android. With Camera Upload, OneDrive ensures that critical business media captured on a mobile device stays managed and secured by your organization.

Camera Upload for OneDrive for Business

With this capability, OneDrive automatically uploads all photos and videos on the device Camera Roll to the selected OneDrive for Business account. These photos and videos are automatically sorted and grouped by year and month under the “Camera Roll” folder automatically created in the “Pictures” folder. Note: only one account may be used at a time for the Camera Upload feature.

Share inside or outside your organization

Share to TeamsOneDrive now makes it even easier to take content on your desktop or mobile device and share it with any team you a member of in Microsoft Teams. One tap and now everyone is in the know.

Share to TeamsShare to Teams

Improved Shared with Me on mobileWe’re updating your Shared view to bring you more relevant recently Shared content. This view will now display and allow sorting by important metadata such as “shared by” and “date shared” to make it even easier to stay up to date on files shared with you.

Shared With Me on Mobile

Collaborate with deep Office integration

Meeting note sharing

With this new feature, we’re helping users get more out of their meetings. We integrated with Outlook’s calendar information so now when you use the app to capture your notes or whiteboard during a meeting, OneDrive will intelligently prompt you to share the file with the other meeting attendees.

Meeting Note sharing

Comments on non-Office filesWith your files stored in OneDrive, you now have the ability to add comments to files as you collaborate with others. This feature will allow you to work together not just in Office documents but with photos, CAD drawings, PDF’s, or any of the over 320+ file types that we currently support. Users can easily leave notes, collaborate and get notifications when mentioned to ensure you are always in the loop.

Comments on non-Office file types

Intelligent sharingLater this year, we will be bringing you some great new features to make sharing not just easier, but more intelligent.

First is the option to easily share relevant content with meeting attendees. For instance, if you just presented a PowerPoint presentation, you’ll be prompted to share it with the other attendees once the meeting is over. If you took a photo of the whiteboard from the OneDrive app, you will be prompted to share it as well.

Intelligent Sharing

We are also adding new functionality to the capture experience on iOS and Android so that when saving a scanned document or image to a site document library, users will be able to add metadata on that document or image. The metadata will be uploaded – along with the document or image – to the selected document library. This capability helps unlock potential new uses cases and workflows right from your phone.

Photo Metadata

Finally, when a user now opens an Office document stored in SharePoint, they can now visit the Info tab in the backstage of Office to see the total number of views and unique viewers of the document

If the document is saved in OneDrive, you will see the same list of viewers and view count on a timeline as in the OneDrive apps. This is married with suggestions of people you may want to share with whom have not yet viewed the file.

File Information

This type of real-world intelligence allows you to quickly keep everyone informed and move on to your next task and is exclusively available when you store your content in OneDrive and SharePoint.

Quickly find files that matter most

Enhanced File Analytics on iOS- Real-Time Stats & ViewsWe're improving the file analytics on iOS so that it's easier to see how many views your shared files have or who have viewed your file. Check out who is viewing your files from the command bar at the top when you open your file from the Me drawer.

Enhanced File Analytics

Intelligent search across audio, video and photos

Announced last September, we are unlocking the value of photos and images stored in OneDrive and SharePoint. Using native, secure AI, we determine where photos were taken, recognize objects, and extract text in photos. This recognition and text extraction allows you to search for images as easily as you search for documents. For example, you could search a folder of scanned receipts for the receipt that mentions “sushi.” Video and audio files also become fully searchable thanks to the transcription services described earlier.

Video and audio transcription

Beginning later this year, automated transcription services will be natively available for video and audio files in OneDrive and SharePoint using the same AI technology available in Microsoft Stream. While viewing a video or listening to an audio file, a full transcript (improving both accessibility and search) will show directly in our industry-leading viewer, which supports over 320 different file types. This will help you utilize your personal video and audio assets, as well as collaborate with others to produce your best work.

Audio and Video Transcription

Video keyword searchLeverage intelligent search with the Microsoft Graph in OneDrive and SharePoint to find audio and video that contains specific words or phrases the same way you search across documents.

Flow integration triggered by keywordUse keywords found in transcribed audio and video can be used to kick off workflows in Microsoft Flow. For example, any content that contains a specific keyword can be copied to a marketing folder for that product.

Time to read and key pointsWouldn’t it be great if before you opened a document you knew exactly what the key points were and how long it would take to read the full document? OneDrive to the rescue with intelligence to help you better prioritize and optimize time by showing you how much time it takes to read a document and summarizing the key points all in the hovercard.

We’ve also extended the view analytics to files that are not Office documents and can now show you when a guest or anonymous user has viewed your file.

Time to Read and Key Points

Protect your work with enterprise-grade security and compliance

Files Restore for SharePoint and Microsoft TeamsFiles Restore is a complete self-service recovery solution that allows administrators and end users to restore files from any point in time during the last 30 days. If a user suspects her or his files have been compromised, they can investigate file changes and allow content owners to go back in time to any second in the last 30 days. Today, we announced similar protections for shared files in SharePoint and Microsoft Teams.Files Restore for SharePoint Team Sites

Admin hold on video and audio via keywordWe have heard from customers that they would love to ability to easily search and flag specific words or phrases found in audio or video content being stored in OneDrive and SharePoint as part of compliance processes. By leveraging the transcription services in OneDrive and SharePoint, you will now have the ability to search across audio and videos files and o find media that contain those keywords or phrases that you have chosen to tag for Administrative hold.

One-click access approvalNow whenever someone is requesting access to an item you'll be able to approve or reject the request with a single click straight from the latest Outlook desktop app and Outlook on the web.

One Click Approve

External sharing integration with Azure AD B2B

Last year at Ignite we introduced a new external sharing experience where recipients could access the shared content in a secure way by entering a one-time passcode sent to their email address without the need of creating or remembering passwords. This year, we're taking it a step further by integrating the one-time passcode sign-in experience with the Azure AD B2B platform. This enables external users to exist in your Azure AD directory as Guests which can be managed in the way you are already familiar with. This integration also brings the one-time passcode experience when sharing SharePoint sites and lists with an external user.

Learn more

As you can see, we continue to evolve OneDrive as a place to access, share, and collaborate on all your files in Office 365, keeping them protected and readily accessible on all your devices, anywhere.

Sync across organizations - This! Any timeline? This is what stopping several of our customers from moving from a competitive product.

I also hope it does not require both organisations to be on Office 365. For example if I (on Office 365) share a folder to a Guest (non-Office 365) I hope there will be a way for that Guest to also start syncing this folder with the OneDrive client. I don't mind if I need to supply a license to this Guest user, just as long as it's possible to do instead the need of create an ordinary Office 365 user.

Is Camera Upload fully rolled out? I have two IOS devices / users in same tenant both running version 10.33.6 and they have very different interfaces. One has office lens button in middle and photo upload the other has Me icon in bottom right. Is there some trigger to flip interface? Further the one that has photo upload option it doesn't seem to do anything? We have taken photos since enabling and it isn't uploading and there is no way to see progress?

We need syncing for external users. They can download individual files or download zips of folders, but both those options have file size problems. Syncing seems to overcome file size issues, but external users can't sync even though they see the sync option..............This is a deal breaker if not fixed asap. I've got so fed up of the ongoing battle/issues with external users getting access to sharepoint.... it makes us look so bad all the time. I feel like giving up on "office" completely because of this, let alone just sharepoint! So completely fed up. One of our partners just ran a specialist technical course on optical networking for some Microsfoft folk at Redmond.... but he couldn't download all the files he needed to do it from our sharepoint site which is shared with him!!! Haven't got words to express my frustration..............

@Stephen Rose I’m seeking clarification on the cross org sync. I’m assyming this will support a single user identity (eg your own tenant plus other tenants that have shared files with you via the same identity). What about the scenario of different identities. Eg where an external party has provisioned a user account within their tenant for you to use? Thanks.